Bagyi Aung Soe, “The Renaissance of Indian Art”, in From Tradition to Modernity, Yangon: Khin May Si Sapay, 1978, 68-73.1
68 Every country and nation has its own culture, custom and art. No nationality will accept the influence of another culture over its own. In order to rediscover and establish a national identity in traditional art, there is a need for artists to confer and work together. In Myanmar, some people criticise classical, traditional and national artworks as being outdated and behind times. Some mock that they see no real Burmese art and want to experience it, if it exists in the first place. I am not trying to renovate our national art … 69 … but I do wish much for a new style of it. There were abundant writings on the renovation of national art in printed media 20 years ago. Sadly, there are few today. To support the renovation of traditional styles, discussions following methodical studies of culture together with painting, sculpture and decorative art should be held. Moreover, we need to scrupulously study the arts of countries in East Asia, where we many cultural ties. Because of the mural paintings on the walls of ancient stupas in Bagan, we know that the Indian culture took root in the land of Myanmar. The study of Indian art will be of great benefit to the renovation of Burmese art. The renaissance of Indian art began 50 years ago, … 70 … at the same time as the first revolts against British rule. The murals in the Ajanta caves by Buddhist monks, the Mughal paintings by Maha Mydin [?] and the Rajput paintings by Hindus from first to seventh centuries BCE, when the Buddhist religion was shaping, were all disappearing as British culture overwhelmed India, as it did Myanmar.
1
This translation only conveys the gist of the article, not all the nuances. Bagyi Aung Soe, “The Renaissance of Indian Art”, in From Tradition to Modernity, Yangon: Khin May Si Sapay, 1978, 68-73.
1
AungSoeillustrations.org